The Alpha's roar echoed through the pack house, a sound that had long ceased to startle Raina. She dropped to her knees, numbly collecting the shards of broken plates, the remnants of another outburst from Alpha Aiden.

A hand, soft yet firm, rested on her shoulder, and Raina didn't need to look up to know it was Taryn, the Alpha's daughter, a warrior with a cruel streak. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she blinked them back, rising with her meager collection of broken pottery and food scraps.

She scrambled out of the room, not sparing a glance at the pair, and made her way to the kitchen. The familiar scent of stale food and lingering fear hung heavy in the air. As she tossed the broken pieces into the bin, a wave of relief washed over her that Taryn hadn't followed, hadn't found another reason to torment her.

“You’re bleeding!” Megan’s voice, a warm balm in the desolate silence, startled her. Raina looked down, seeing the crimson drip from a cut on her hand, a fresh wound in a landscape of old scars. Megan rushed to her side, a worried frown on her face.